Modeling Pastes Recipes


Recipe for Corn Starch Dough (Maizena)



Ingredients and Preparation
1 cup of Maizena flour (Corn starch, cornstarch, corn flour or maize starch is the starch of the corn [maize] grain obtained from the endosperm of the corn kernel)
1 cup PVA glue (white glue)
1 spoon of liquid paraffin (vaseline oil) or glycerin cream
1 spoon of water
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Pour and mix all the ingredients in a nonstick pan and stir with a wooden spoon.
Put the pan over a gas flame on low heat for 11/12 minutes until the paste thickens and becomes detached from  the saucepan.
Place it on a aluminum foil as it cools and after mix it with the hands.
Keep it in small plastic bag or plastic film in a cool place (fridge).

How to Color It
The “corn dough” dried naturally assumes a whitish color.
For color the dough we can act in two different time points, the first when the mixture is soft and the second when the dough is dried.
For the first, add a slight amount of color in the mixture and works it until obtain the desired color. Are generally used tempera paints and acrylics. It’s best to start with a small amount of color and add little amounts of color to saturate or darken the mixture until the desired shade.

Is its also possible use powders, spices and pigments for coloring. Among the natural powders can remember the saffron (that gives a warm red), cinnamon, parsley, paprika.

The second way for color is when the dough is dried. For this type of coloring  are used watercolors or temperas (painting with a brush), for small decorations markers are great.

Normally the color of the mixture slightly darkens when it dries, such as pale pink becomes bright pink.
 
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Recipe for Salt Dough


Ingredients and Preparation
2 cups of white wheat flour
1 cup of fine salt
½ cup of water at ambient temperature
1 spoon of wallpaper glue (optional)
First mix the flour with the salt, it is possible to obtain a paste with finer grain if the salt is previously milled in a blender, then slowly add water until obtain the desired consistency.
A too soft result can be corrected by adding additional flour, while if the dough is too compact and not very malleable it’s possible to corrected it by adding a little bit of water
The paste can be kept in a plastic bag in a cool place and lasts for for several days.
The artifacts can be left to dry in a dry place or put to bake in oven without exceeding the 70 to 80 degrees (140- 160 F).


How to color it
The salt paste on natural drying without cooking takes a whitish color (like ivory), but if baked acquires a beige / ligh-browny shades (like bread).
For coloring can proceed on fresh or dry dough.
For fresh coloring adds a slight amount of color in the dough and working with hands until get the desired color. Usually are used temperas and acrylic paints. It’s best to start with a small amount of color and add little by little amount of color to darken the mixture. It’s possible to use powder, spices (like cinnamon, saffron, parsley, paprika, cocoa, pepper) or pigments.
Fr the dry coloring paint on the dried surface to define small details and add decorations. Are usually used tempera and  watercolors.

Compared to the “corn flour dough”, this paste doesn’t darken when drying.
It 's important to keep the product in a dry place otherwise it tends to crumble or losing definition and also making cracks. To prevent this and keep it better can make a light pass of  colorless. spray paint.
It is recommended to carefully wash the tools, especially metal, used in processing, because the salt corrodes everything irreparably!
Even the hands should be flushed often to avoid chapping.